[Chiraptora: For Bryce Wayne]

[serinusniger]

The book launch Dinah so much wanted to go to is taking place in the ballroom of the Gotham Hilton, and the guest list is long and illustrious enough to warrant a large media presence in front of the hotel lobby, parting occasionally to let cars arrive.

It's into this crowd that Dinah, dressed to impress in red, with impressive slits up both sides, pulls her matching red Ferrari. She grins at the snapping photographers, pulls on her heels while still sitting in the convertible, and offers the keys to the valet who opens the door.

Then she offers a hand to her passenger, because coming out of this door will still be easier than fighting the other side.

Comments

[serinusniger]

"I know of her."

Dinah pauses to wave and blow a kiss to a gentleman across the room. To raise her glass to someone else.

"Siobhan Logan. Daughter of a completely respectable businessman in Metropolis. She says she wanted to have the launch in Gotham because she's considering moving here. So it would only be polite to greet her, I thought."

[gothamsheiress]

"Always nice to have a friendly face greeting you when you move someplace new."

And it's always nice to know who's coming into your city. You never know what might be hiding under a completely respectable exterior.

. . . What?

[serinusniger]

"That's what I think," Dinah agrees, glancing around.

To all of it.

"I don't see her yet, though."

She also doesn't see the rakishly handsome young man in the Armani Suit coming up behind the two of them. Taller than them both, he has black hair, shining blue eyes, and a handful of tiny little shrimp pastries.

"I think she's decided to arrive fashionably late," he says. "Obviously no one told her about the quality of the food around here."

He ignores Dinah at first and just smiles warmly at Bryce.

[gothamsheiress]

Bryce turns and gives him a bright smile in return.

"To her own event? A little gauche, don't you think?"

[serinusniger]

Dinah lifts her glass to her mouth as she watches him fix his eyes on Bryce, give a cheeky wink and pop one of those shrimp canapes in his mouth playfully.

"Or she's perfectly on time and we're just in the wrong hotel," he says. "but with company like this, I don't want to be right. Dinah, you didn't tell me you had friends like this."

Dinah lowers her glass and says lightly:

"Oh come on, Dick. You can't expect me to introduce you to all my friends."

[gothamsheiress]

Bryce giggles behind her hand, then offers a handshake.

"Especially not the ones from out of town. Roberta. Hi."

[serinusniger]

Dick refuses to take the handshake. In total knowledge of how cheesy it is, he bends and kisses that hands.

"Delighted to meet you," he says.

Dinah grins at them both. "Roberta Grey, this is my step-son, Dick Grayson."

She'll just throw that out there.

[gothamsheiress]

. . . Dinah, you're terrible.

Well, it'll be more awkward for him if he flirts with her without knowing who she is than it is for her.

"Really!" she says brightly. "You're Jason's brother?"

[serinusniger]

"Oh, you've met Jason?" Dick says, glancing up at Dinah first, not particularly sure he likes her tone.

"I hope you won't judge the entire family based on one bad boy."

Dinah smiles sweetly at him.

[gothamsheiress]

"Oh, no, he's a sweetie."

Somehow she is able to say this with a straight face.

[serinusniger]

Dick gives Dinah another look. And looks from one of them to the other.

"Always falling for the bad boys," he says sadly. "I should have brought our youngest brother. He'd have you bowled over."

[gothamsheiress]

"Three boys?" Bryce gives Dinah a sidelong look. "How do you do it?"

[serinusniger]

Dinah just holds up two fingers. "And two girls," she says. "I do it by being very careful that they don't come into my life until they're ten at the very least."

Dick is quiet for now. Still grinning lazily, eating his pastries.

[gothamsheiress]

"You're a stronger woman than I. I could never raise kids."

[serinusniger]

"Roberta," says Dinah, "I am absolutely certain that if an orphan landed on your lap with no one else to turn to, you'd change your mind."

She wraps an arm around Bryce's shoulder to steer her away from Dick, to whom she says:

"Don't you have countless young hearts to break, Dick? You don't want people to notice you chatting to your evil gold digging step mother."

He grins lazily at both of them. "Hey, my trust fund is out of your grasp, remember?"

But he takes the hint, and retreats to get himself something else to eat.

[gothamsheiress]

"What an interesting young man," Bryce murmurs as they move on. "Grayson? The name sounds familiar."

[serinusniger]

"Don't let him fool you," Dinah says. "That charming flirtatious act? Not an act."

Unlike with the other Bats, as they both know.

She's looking around the room, again, for Ms. Logan when she answers the next question.

"The Flying Graysons. Haley's circus. John and Mary - You'll keep an eye out, won't you?"

This is as much a favor for Bryce herself as for Dick or Dinah. She sometimes thinks that if Bruce could go back and save one set of parents, it would be those two.

[gothamsheiress]

"John and Mary Grayson." She nods. "Of course I will."

One more name to add to the list of alerts on her computer. She suspects there are going to be quite a few of those this evening.

"But honestly, Dinah -- five kids? Are they all in the family business?"

[serinusniger]

Dinah pulls a face, that's partly guilt and mostly defensiveness.

"I'd like to see you try to stop any of them," she says. "And for some, it was our business or our competitors."

[gothamsheiress]

"Well, we can't have that," Bryce says.

[serinusniger]

"It's complicated," Dinah tells her glass, from which shes yet to drink, despite raising it a few times.

"Not for Dick. Dick's as uncomplicated as he seems. But the younger ones? The kids? There's a couple of times I've thought about packing it all in so one of them could have a normal life."

But it's too late for Damien and Sin to have anything like that.

[gothamsheiress]

Bryce studies her for a long moment, then reaches out and touches her shoulder.

"I have no doubt at all that you've given them the best life possible," quietly. "Even if it wasn't normal."

[serinusniger]

Dinah exhales.

"I'm being defensive, aren't I? I didnj't have the easiest childhood..."

She trails off, glancing over at the entrance to the ballroom.

"Oh, looks like the guest of honor has arrived."

[gothamsheiress]

"It's okay," Bryce says with a quick smile, squeezing her shoulder. "Did any of us?"

Following Dinah's glance, she straightens and takes the tiniest sip of her champagne.

"Let's get over there, then, hm?"

[serinusniger]

Dinah smirks, and touches her hand under Bryce's elbow, as she sweeps in that direction, exchanging her glass for a copy of the book on the way.

Siobhan Logan is tall and pale, with brown hair curling expertly to the shoulders of her cocktail dress. She has a small entourage with her, which grows slightly as guests stop to greet her.

Dinah steps through the crowds without apparently noticing them, reaching out a hand to Siobhan.

"Ms. Logan, hi. Dinah Lance."

Siobhan glances up from the hand, and smiles as she finally takes it.

"Dinah... Oh! Bruce Wayne's wife."

"Ex."

"Of course. And your friend?"